Union Bankshares (UBSH) Competitors

First Interstate BancSystem (NASDAQ:FIBK) and Union Bankshares (NASDAQ:UBSH) are both mid-cap finance companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, profitability, community ranking, institutional ownership, media sentiment, analyst recommendations, valuation and risk.

Do analysts rate FIBK or UBSH?

First Interstate BancSystem currently has a consensus price target of $29.20, indicating a potential upside of 8.15%. Given Union Bankshares' higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe First Interstate BancSystem is more favorable than Union Bankshares.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
First Interstate BancSystem	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.40
Union Bankshares	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	N/A

Which has better valuation & earnings, FIBK or UBSH?

First Interstate BancSystem has higher revenue and earnings than Union Bankshares. First Interstate BancSystem is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Union Bankshares, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
First Interstate BancSystem	$1.01B	2.77	$257.50M	$2.51	10.76
Union Bankshares	$633.03M	4.18	$146.25M	$2.71	11.91

Do insiders and institutionals believe in FIBK or UBSH?

88.7% of First Interstate BancSystem shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 64.4% of Union Bankshares shares are held by institutional investors. 6.9% of First Interstate BancSystem shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.8% of Union Bankshares shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is FIBK or UBSH a better dividend stock?

First Interstate BancSystem pays an annual dividend of $1.88 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.0%. Union Bankshares pays an annual dividend of $0.92 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. First Interstate BancSystem pays out 74.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Union Bankshares pays out 33.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Is FIBK or UBSH more profitable?

Union Bankshares has a net margin of 24.34% compared to Union Bankshares' net margin of 18.04%. First Interstate BancSystem's return on equity of 9.35% beat Union Bankshares' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
First Interstate BancSystem	18.04%	8.55%	0.88%
Union Bankshares	24.34%	9.35%	1.33%

Which has more volatility & risk, FIBK or UBSH?

First Interstate BancSystem has a beta of 0.87, meaning that its stock price is 13% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Union Bankshares has a beta of 1.42, meaning that its stock price is 42% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the MarketBeat Community favor FIBK or UBSH?

First Interstate BancSystem received 2 more outperform votes than Union Bankshares when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 54.45% of users gave Union Bankshares an outperform vote while only 51.76% of users gave First Interstate BancSystem an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
First Interstate BancSystem	Outperform Votes 265 51.76%	Underperform Votes 247 48.24%
Union Bankshares	Outperform Votes 263 54.45%	Underperform Votes 220 45.55%

Does the media prefer FIBK or UBSH?

In the previous week, First Interstate BancSystem had 25 more articles in the media than Union Bankshares. MarketBeat recorded 27 mentions for First Interstate BancSystem and 2 mentions for Union Bankshares. Union Bankshares' average media sentiment score of 0.69 beat First Interstate BancSystem's score of 0.00 indicating that First Interstate BancSystem is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
First Interstate BancSystem	5 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	12 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Union Bankshares	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Summary

First Interstate BancSystem beats Union Bankshares on 10 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.